Window Grilles Provide Homes Unique, Historic Touches

April 24, 2018

Spring is here, with the promise of pleasant temperatures on shiny and sun-filled days. It’s a great time to think about grilles. Not the grills that cook tasty summer meals, but the grilles that can refresh the look of your home’s windows.

Window grilles are decorative horizontal and/or vertical bars that partition larger panes of glass into patterns. They are usually used as a design throwback to when window glass could not be created in the large sheets seen today.

Back then, glass was delicate and large pieces were almost impossible to place without breaking. The answer was to create many small pieces of glass connected together by window grilles.

Even though today’s technology has made it possible to produce windows without needing grilles, the design of windows with grilles has maintained popularity with homeowners who want a traditional or historic look for their home.

Look at any Victorian, Cape Cod or Colonial style home, for example, to see familiar home architectures that might not look “right” without windows that include grilles.

History and technology meet in the middle when it comes to modern window grilles. You can discover a variety of options in replacement windows for grilles that not only maintain a sense of historic style, while featuring modern conveniences.

From grilles that make the look of separated window panes to grilles that can be moved in order to make cleaning and maintaining window glass convenient, there are window grille options that fit almost any homeowner’s plans.

Here are some available grille types offered by Pella of Calgary, as well as conveniences that come with each:

Integral Light Technology (ILT) Grilles

These grilles are for those who desire a window grille that gives a realistic look of individual windowpanes without the price of customizing a window. Depending on the type of window, either wood, fiberglass or vinyl grilles are permanently placed to the inside and outside of the window glass.

Some windows have a nonglare foam spacer that then is added between the grilles to create a shadow that gives the look of individual glass panes — creating an authentic look of true divided-light windows.

ILT grilles are a great solution for homeowners seeking windows that are an authentic complementary match for their traditional or historic style. These grilles can be provided in unfinished or prefinished stained wood, or painted and primed fiberglass or vinyl.

Simulated Divided-Light Grilles (SDL)

SDL grilles use the same approach as ILT grilles, with grilles bonded to the inside and outside of the glass. Unlike ILT grilles, SDL grilles typically do not provide a spacer between the grille and the glass.

Removable Roomside Wood Grilles

Unlike other divided-light grilles, removable grilles are placed to the interior side of windows with latches. This allows the grilles to be removed and makes cleaning the glass a snap, while still providing the look of divided windowpanes in the window. Like divided-light grilles that are adhered to the window, though, removable grilles can be made in unfinished wood, prefinished stained wood or painted and primed.

Between-The-Glass Grilles

As opposed to divided-light grilles that are typically affixed on both sides of the glass or removable grilles that are secured to the roomside of the glass, between-the-glass grilles are, as the name implies, installed between the panes of insulating glass in double- or triple-paned windows.

The benefit of these grilles is that homeowners get the look of divided windowpanes while still having a smooth glass surface that’s convenient to clean.

Between-the-glass grilles can be made to be removable. In windows with this style of grille, the space between the panes of glass, sometimes referred to as a swinging panel, can be opened in order to uninstall the grille for cleaning, or when cleaning the panes of glass.

With these grille options, creating a historic look doesn’t mean having to deal with old window technology. When seeking to replace your home windows, look into the wide array of grilles that are available to make the perfect marriage of traditional and modern window design.